Awards:
- MEC Sustainability Grant (2012)
Shown at:
- Sala Rossa (2010)
- Vélo Vélo (2010)
- La Société des Arts Technologiques (2011)
- MUTEK @ Place Des Arts (2011)
Close your eyes and imagine a multimedia psychedelic bike ride from the Plateau to Parc Jean-Drapeau on a gorgeous day. Video provides a visual of the urban landscape passing by, synchronized to audio, everything modulated by pedaling. Pedal faster – the video moves faster and tempo increases. Pedal slowly or brake, and it all slows down. The rhythms, seemingly drums and bass – are not quite electronic or acoustic. Why? Because every sound originated from a bicycle. Two other bicycles provide improvised accompaniment: one – sounds of the city and of nature, morphed by technology, modulated by the movements of the riders. The third and final bike provides surprise: bass tones from the tires (is this what burning rubber sounds like?) and other sounds of motion. Now imagine these bicycles presented to diverse audiences in the city of Montreal: in Parc LaFontaine, at metro Place des Arts, on the street on St- Viateur, at the SAT (Société Des Arts Technologiques), Sala Rossa, UQAM, a global conference called Ecocities—tailored to promote sustainable urban living, and at the Biosphere to educate youth about how to use energy more efficiently.
///Friction is a performative sound installation that uses bicycles to create and manipulate sounds, transforming three bicycles into musical instruments. Audio is complimented by video, tempos synchronized, so as the three riders pedal, the melodies, harmonies, and rhythms — all derived from the bicycle — evolve to form a soundscape that evolves into a song.